Update: the theme of this year's Bardic contest in Glastonbury is 'Crucible'

At this moment the theme of this year's Bardic contest in Glastonbury is being announced at the Market Cross. As last year's Silver Pen winner, I believe I'll be judging this year's written entries - listen out for the theme, you might be inspired! /|\

Did you know That Elon Musk Is an anagram Of Elon Skum

Read my poem 'Hedgehog' for the @thewingedmoon.bsky.social Biophilia season launch this afternoon (they'll be publishing it on their Substack a little later in the year). It was a charming event and there seem to be lots of little coincidences fizzing off it - Goa, hedgehogs, Leonora Carrington.

Haven't logged into BlueSky in ages and it still seems refreshingly nice. 🔵🦋🔵

Now with added clues! open.substack.com/pub/wesviola...

Merry Christmas, would you like to have a go at my occasional annual Film Quotes of the Year Quiz? Many quotes still unrecognised and unclaimed... open.substack.com/pub/wesviola...

Latest and upcoming stuff by me: open.substack.com/pub/wesviola...

Read my poem 'Wild Man' up at @eunoiareview.bsky.social today. (It won't take you long) >> eunoiareview.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/w... <<

A digital version of ‘Thirteen Names for the West’ - my *very green* poem cycle about the Wicked Witch of Oz fame - is now available to for download on a name-your-price basis. I hope you’ll get yourself one! wesviola.gumroad.com/l/13names 💚

At this stage, Iga Swiatek should actually open a literal bakery. #Wimbledon 🥯

"...but I heard that the heart of the galaxy smells like raspberries and rum..." My poem 'Song & Dance' appears in the music-themed Summer Solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer, free online now. eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/summe...

Worth considering that one reason Bluesky doesn't always feel super fun is that current events are relentlessly horrifying and bad

'Thirteen Names for the West' is my poem cycle inspired by the many and various incarnations of the Wicked Witch of the West in popular culture over the last century and more. Now available in a numbered first edition of 100 - follow the link for more details. wesviola.substack.com/p/thirteen-n...

There are still many zine distros that are thriving.

Are zine distros still a thing, or did they wither and die in the early 21st Century?

Uh... let's *not* let this be what we take from this. A lot of things could do with disrupting.

I think it's really clever how they used 'The Chain' in the trailer for that new Formula 1 film so it seems like all the UK TV coverage of races throughout the years until now has just been building up to it.

Just in case anyone's missed this shitshow, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING DIRECT FROM UNBOUND OR BOUNDLESS. *Do* check on authors' own pages how best to get hold of their work. DO NOT SUBMIT WORK TO UNBOUND OR BOUNDLESS.

Indie bookstores are awesome! 👍❤️📚

I don't think it's a spoiler to say about #DoctorWho , though, that a lot of people in both cast and crew are at times making miraculous work of *really* ropey material... and at other times, not even their talents are able to plaster over the cracks.

#DoctorWho oh I'm so pleased.

Broken Sleep Books (@brokensleepbooks.bsky.social) have a FLASH SALE on now until midnight tomorrow (Friday 31 May) offering 25% off many books on their website, including two anthologies I'm in, 'Masculinity' and 'Devastation Songs' www.brokensleepbooks.com/books

Nick Clegg says asking homeowners to willingly hand over their belongings would 'kill' the burglary industry.

You say this as if it was a bad thing.

Love Song to Alexa #alexa #love #poetry

My poem 'Horizon', which won the Silver Pen at the Bardic contest in Glastonbury last night. More details: open.substack.com/pub/wesviola...

That rabbits, both male and female, have marsupial-style pouches. I only realised my error when wondering aloud why the Easter bunny was always depicted carrying a basket when he could simply carry the eggs in his pouch.

Today is St Dunstan's Day and that means the finals of the Bardic contest in Glastonbury. Local storytellers, poets and (not enough) songwriters compete to be this year's Bard of Ynys Witrin. I try to be there almost every year since I joined the Gorsedh, even now I've moved away from town.

Another remarkable piece of writing by the brilliant Andrew Hankinson. More wounded, stunted, stumpy men, shouting angrily at the North Eastern sky, to file alongside his unforgettable book-length study of Raoul Moat. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Massive anti-genocide protest in London today, hundreds of thousands demand justice and an end to Israel’s ongoing genocide of Gaza. #3E #EndImpunity #freepalestine

Welcome to a bunch of new followers overnight! I think you all came from @lozzawriting.bsky.social's writing community list (thank you Laura) - I'll try to honour that and post some useful things at least occasionally. If you want to know more about me as a writer, linktr.ee/wesviola is the place.

Back in the days of the Industrial Revolution, we should have implemented a law whereby companies that replace workers with machines have to go on paying those employees a high proportion of their wages. We should still do it now.

What I'm doing on my birthday in case any friends fancy joining us for it... www.jacksonslane.org.uk/events/sing-...

Biggest fucking downer I've seen on Bluesky all week.

Tried to take a nap earlier and got 10 minutes of sleep paralysis instead. On the bright side, the skittery tunes my brain was playing me were banging.

Cool competition alert! Spotted this on Instagram. Tell your nearest 11-18 year old 🏛️📝 Details here: clasoutreach.web.ox.ac.uk/creativewrit...

But not in a good way

When I saw that the theme of the King's English Society's poetry competition was 'Furniture', I had but one poem I could send them. A poem written in a coin laundry in Omaha in 2014. Lo and behold! Runner up! The plastic chair has its day at last! kingsenglishsociety.org/prizes/resul...

I have a very little cameo in this book!

hear hear

Mondegreen / misheard lyrics Having learned the title of 'Canned Heat' by Jamiroquai, I now realise that he wasn't singing about having 'candy in our heels tonight baby' after all.

With all the attention around Disney's new Snow White film, I guess now is the time to share my poem about her again? 'Snow-drop', highly commended in the Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival poetry prize, 2018

I was going to send several poems to the Dark Poets Prize, until I read this indignant, unholier-than-thou lecture about why they think poets should pay to have their work read by editors - and this is just for submissions to their journal, not the Prize! Would we pay employers to read our CVs?

I'm about to use long-armed stapler for the first time in years and let me tell you, my inner zinester is *thrilled*. And yes, those *are* green staples. #zinester #green #staples #ThirteenNamesForTheWest

Coming soon